John Isner, Janko Tipsarevic advance to the second round – London Olympics
John Isner beats Olivier Rochus 7-6(1), 6-4
American number one, John Isner, booked his place in the second round by beating Olivier Rochus of Belgium in straight sets 7-6(1), 6-4 in the opener at the 2012 London Olympics. The American player took just an hour and 14 minutes
to undo his Belgian opponent.
Isner and Rochus gave a remarkable performance on their serves in the opening set, as they held throughout to take the score to 6-6 and force a tie-breaker. However, it was a one sided affair afterwards, as Isner allowed the Belgian
to claim just one point and captured it 7-6(1).
The American started the second set from where he had left in the previous one, nailing a break in the very first game and winning his next serve to build a 2-0 lead. Isner did not allow the Belgian to bounce back till the end
and closed it 6-4.
At the end of the match, Isner said, “It’s very special; it’s such an honour to be here at the Olympics to represent our team and to represent our country. After the match, when I won, there was a nice ‘USA’ chant going on and
it really kind of gives you chills.”
The American will take on Tunisia’s Malek Jaziri in the round of 32. The Tunisian defeated Yen-Hsun Lu of Chinese Taipei in the first round.
Janko Tipsarevic defeats David Nalbandian 6-3, 6-4
Serbia’s Janko Tipsarevic defeated the former world number three, David Nalbandian of Argentina, in straight sets 6-3, 6-4 to reach the second round.
Tipsarevic and Nalbandian did not drop their serve in the first five games, taking the score to 3-2 in the Serbian’s favour. Tipsarevic hit a blow to the Argentinean in the sixth and consolidated on it to grab a 5-2 lead. The Serbian
did not throw away his lead and easily closed it out at 6-3.
In the second set, Tipsarevic and Nalbandian started by winning their opening serve to square off the proceedings at 1-1. The Serbian stung a break in the third one and made the most of it to win 6-4.
A relieved Tipsarevic stated later, “It was a very tricky match even though it was 6-3, 6-4. I think, what decided it, not that I played better or worse, but I played better in the important moments on serve. I’m feeling extremely
happy that I managed to win in straight sets.”
The Serbian will face the world number 92, Philipp Petzschner of Germany, in the next match.
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